The Best Day Of My Life
by StarlightSpook
Summary: "looking in the mirror she no longer saw Kathryn Janeway, she hadn’t seen Kathryn Janeway for a long time" - Tom gives Kathryn the best day of her life. Inspired by Dido's song 'Thank You'
1. Chapter 1 Blackouts

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Notes: This is going to be quite a long story, with six or more chapters. The chapters will be published as they are written but there maybe changes and revisions made to the early chapters when new ones are written. Inspired by Dido's song 'Thank You'. This wasn't written to go under any challenges but this chapter does loosely fit under Jupiter Station Challenge #407

Chapter 1

Kathryn woke up with a headache as usual. Lately it seemed as if she permanently had a headache, something which she contributed to being a '20 cups a day' coffee drinker. Slowly she extracted herself from the covers and padded over her dresser, looking in the mirror she no longer saw Kathryn Janeway, she hadn't seen Kathryn Janeway for a long time. Instead she saw a worn-out looking woman with dark circles under her eyes and such pale skin it looked almost transparent. At first she hadn't noticed the change in her pallor; she didn't notice that she was gradually applying more and more make-up to hide it. Kathryn's thoughts were interrupted when her door opened and admitted a visitor.

"Captain are you ready yet?" 

The caller was Tom Paris. Suddenly yesterday's events came back to her, like a dam breaking, and her mind was filled with the images and sounds of yesterday's party in the mess hall. 

It had been Chakotay's birthday and Neelix had organised a magnificent party to celebrate, she'd been working late in her ready room nurseing a throbbing head and a now lukewarm cup of coffee when Mr. Paris turned up, on Chakotay's orders properly, and dragged her to the party. She vaguely remembered feeling light-headed then her world plunged into darkness. On regaining consciousness, only a few seconds after blacking out she was greeted the anxious faces and questions of her crew. She'd of course told them she was fine and that it was just a migraine but everyone insisted she go and rest and see the doctor in the morning, so she had agreed to go back to her quarters. B'Elanna had decided to escort her 'just to be on the safe side'. She recalled informing the young woman that it was just the migraine she got at that time of the month and that she really didn't need to see the doctor, but the engineer would have none of it and decided that she would accompany her captain to sickbay the next morning, to make sure Kathryn went. 

Kathryn groaned she really did not want to explain this to the doctor. Her sleep filled brain then realised that Tom was alone. "What's he doing here?" She thought.

"Captain you okay?"

"Fine, Lt. What did you want?"

"Oh, yea, B'Elanna had to do an extra shift in engineering so she asked me to take you."

Kathryn's mind was busy thinking up a list of things to call her Chief Engineer next time she met her.

"Thank you, but I can manage it down to sickbay just fine."

"Captain, your getting me off-duty this morning because of this, anyway if anything happened to you B'Elanna would cut my….Never mind. I'll be waiting in the lounge"

Kathryn sighed realising there was no point arguing and walked towards the bathroom to get ready.

Ten minutes later she was fully dressed and ready to go. She and Paris made the walk silently to sickbay.

In sickbay the doctor was hovering around Lt. Carey, literally hovering. Apparently the EMH program had a glitch and somehow while trying to fix it Carey had broken his arm, which was now being repaired.

"Be with you in a minute" The Doctor said.

It was actually twenty, during which time Kathryn had nearly left twice.

"Now Captain what seems to be the trouble?" The EMH asked after Carey had left and Tom was working in the office, gesturing for her to sit on a bio-bed.

"Um…..well, I blacked out yesterday at Chakotay's party, I told everyone it was nothing, that it was just to do with the migraine but they badgered me into seeing you"

"Migraine?"

"Yes…ugh…I get a migraine sometimes, I usually get them with my period" Kathryn said the last bit quietly so that Tom wouldn't overhear.

"Ah yes you have complained of migraines around menstruation before, I told you to cut down your coffee intake" Tom looked up from the office, the Doctor had spoken loud enough for him to her. Kathryn's face coloured in embrassement "Have you cut-down?"

"A bit"

"Well I think that you're right, the blackout was probably related to the migraine but I would like to run some quick tests just to make sure."

"Do your stuff" Kathryn said as she reclined on the bed and after a short while feel asleep.

** Go To Chapter 2**


	2. Chapter 2 Truth

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Over an hour had passed before Tom looked up from the experiment he was running and though the Perspex divide into sickbay. Kathryn was lying either knocked-out or asleep on a bio-bed while the Doctor worked at the computer terminal with a concerned look on his face. Tom finished the last batch of tests and walked out into the main room.

"What's up doc?" Tom said, half-teasing, half-serious.

*No doubt Lt.Paris has been partaking in more of that 20th Century nonsense* The Doctor thought.

"Take a look at theses holo-images what do you see?"

Tom moved around to the other side of the console and looked at the images displayed on screen, then looked at the sleeping Captain.

"Please tell me these aren't her holo-images" Tom begged. 

"I'm afraid they are Mr Paris"

"You can cure it right?"

"There is no cure, all I can do is treat the symptoms" The Doctor said looking as if something terrible had just happened. "Lt. I'm going to wake her up shortly and I think it would be better if you weren't present when I tell her"

Tom Paris nodded his acknowledgment and in a daze left sickbay.

The Doctor sighed and went over to his most troublesome patient. Over the 6 years that he had known her she had skipped medical exams and showed a blatant disregard for her health but know that would all have to change.

"Captain, Captain"

Slowly those blue-grey eyes opened and focused on the Doctor.

"What's the verdict?" Kathryn asked.

"I ran some tests and..." He was a hologram, programmed to be able to carry out all medical duties with a professional detachment but for a second he hesitated, he was about to tell someone he cared about that they were going to die. "...I discovered a growth on your brain, Captain, you have cancer."

Kathryn had a deer caught in the headlights expression on her face.

"You can remove it right?" She said, a faint flicker of hope in her voice.

"I'm sorry Captain....."

Note: I know that cancer is curable in the 24th century but this is AU and for this story some forms of cancer still have no cure.

**Go to Chapter 3**


	3. Chapter 3 Denial

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The lights in her quarters turned on, it was automatic, done by the ships computer in preparation for her ending her duty shift. The dim light illuminated the petite form curled up on the bed. 

After she left sickbay, Kathryn had headed up to the bridge, but the doctor had already told Chakotay's and Tuvok she was on 24hours medical leave. In a way she was glad that she didn't have to deal with being Captain Janeway today but she also knew she was best at coping with things like this if she worked.

For a few hours she had roamed around the ship trying to find something she could do, she eventually returned to her quarters after realising she was making the crew who passed her in the corridors uneasy.

Now she lay on her bed with silent tears running down her cheeks. This wasn't meant to be happening. She was supposed to have gone to the doctor, listened to one of his lectures, got some painkillers and returned to duty. She wasn't meant to be told her time was running out. 

*He's wrong, His holo-images are wrong* Kathryn's brain interjected. *There must have been a malfunction*

Part of Kathryn knew she was just trying to deny the truth but her brain and her thoughts became more powerful and she soon found herself believing them.

*All you need to do is get the doctor to repeat the scans using another holo-imager* To Kathryn this sounded like a good plan.

Chapter 4 Coming Soon!


End file.
